


Listen to the Sleigh Bells Sing

by tigerpip



Category: One Direction (Band), Radio 1 RPF
Genre: 1D Holidaze, Alternate Universe, Holiday Fic Exchange, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-24
Updated: 2012-12-24
Packaged: 2017-11-22 06:30:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/606840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tigerpip/pseuds/tigerpip
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Christmas is a time for bringing people together, and that was exactly what had happened. Or alternately, the boys go on holiday for winter break and get to know each other all over again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Listen to the Sleigh Bells Sing

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



> I wrote this for thedreamisreal as part of the 1D Holidaze Christmas exchange. I'm sorry, I know you said that illness was one of your squicks but this...isn't really illness? Technically...it's more kind of temporary-discomfort? I hope you don't mind. And there's quite heavy Zayn/Louis friendship. Hope that's okay too! But I tried to make it as festive as I could so I hope you like it. The Merriest of Christmases and the Happiest of New Years to you! Enjoy! x  
> This hasn't been beta-ed so mistakes (of which there will be many) are all my own.

Niall was just burrowing further into Zayn's side when the door to the lodge flew open and Louis stepped in, bringing with him a strong gust of wind and a flurry of snowflakes. Everyone looked up at the commotion and Harry shouted,

“Fucking finally!”  
Louis flipped him off as he stumbled through the doorway, an impressive feat given how many bags he was carrying.  
“Jesus Lou, we're only here for the weekend!” Liam exclaimed.  
“It never hurts to come prepared. It's cold!”  
Dumping his luggage unceremoniously in the hallway, Louis unwound his scarf from his neck and peeled off his gloves before chucking them on top, diving towards the nearest person (who happened to be Harry).  
“Oof!” He let out a grunt as Louis landed on top of him, before, “Eww, you're all wet. Get off me!”  
“You love it really.” Louis smirked, squeezing Harry tighter before rolling off him onto the floor. He stood up again and addressed everyone.  
“Sorry I'm so late, boys, I had to film a last-minute scene so I couldn’t make the early flight. But I'm here now so the fun can begin.”  
“What makes you think we weren't having more fun without you?”  
“Impossible.” Louis said simply. He turned to leave the room, calling over his shoulder,  
“I'm just going to get out of these wet clothes. I'll be five minutes, then we can get this show on the road!”  
  
“And there goes our nice quiet holiday.” Zayn said, prompting laughter from the rest of the room. The five of them had decided to get away during the winter break and spend some time together; their busy lives meant that it was getting increasingly more difficult to meet up regularly and they all needed to relax a little. They had rented a proper wood cabin in Sweden for three days the weekend before Christmas, and the plan was to exchange gifts, have a laugh and catch up.  
  
Liam stood up from his chair by the fire,  
“I guess I should get some drinks then. What do you guys want?”  
“No alcohol for us, mate. Zayn's on painkillers after his op.” Niall said.  
“And you're...not drinking out of sympathy?” Harry asked, bemused. “That's so cute!”  
“Fuck off!” Niall laughed. “I don’t need you to patronize me!”  
“I take it you're not drinking, Li?”  
Liam shook his head and Harry opened his mouth to say something else, but at that moment Louis slid into the room, socks slipping on the wooden floor and nearly ending up in the fire.  
“I brought whiskey!” he singsonged, steadying himself on the arm of the sofa. “Who's joining me?”  
“Just me, the party-poopers over there are on the soft drinks.”  
“Shocking.” Louis said, placing the bottle on the coffee table and taking a seat next to Harry.  
“What _are_ you wearing, Lou?” Zayn asked, poking his head out from under the duvet he was buried beneath. Louis frowned down at his fairisle-printed woollen outfit.  
“My onesie.”  
“You look ridiculous.”  
“Of course I don't, young Malik. I look super cool.”  
“Is that what they tell you in London?”  
Louis nodded and sat back in his seat, shaking his fringe out of his eyes.  
  
“I'll come and help you, Li.” Harry said, getting up to follow Liam as he went through to the kitchen, grabbing the whiskey bottle as he passed. Louis took the opportunity to stretch his legs out into Harry's now-vacant space, before fixing Niall and Zayn with a look.  
“And how are the happy couple?” he asked.  
“Happy.” Niall said, at the same time as Zayn said “Tired.”  
“What's up with you?” Louis gestured to the cocoon of blankets Zayn was hiding in. He seemed to be having a hard time keeping his eyes open, and Louis hadn't missed the way Niall kept glancing sideways at him.  
“He's just had throat surgery so he feels a bit rough just now.” Niall spoke for him.  
“Shit, is everything okay now?”  
Zayn nodded, but it was Niall that answered again.  
“Yeah, it was never anything to worry about. In a few weeks everything will be fine.”  
“I wanted it done before Christmas,” Zayn added, “I'm meant to be back in the studio in January.”  
“We'll see.” Niall brushed Zayn's hair off his face, pressing a kiss to his temple.  
  
Harry and Liam returned with a tray of steaming mugs and passed them around. Louis looked down at his cocoa, disappointed.  
“Where's my whiskey?!”  
“It's in there, don't worry.” Harry replied. He nudged Louis' legs with his foot, getting him to lift them slightly so he could slide onto the sofa before they were lowered once more to rest on Harry's thighs. Liam went back to the kitchen, returning a few moments later with a bag of marshmallows and a DVD.  
“I brought Elf!” he announced, booting up the DVD player and turning on the TV. A film was a good idea; everyone was tired and ready to unwind. The boys began to settle down in their seats, pulling blankets over themselves. Being closest to the fire, Niall was in charge of roasting the marshmallows, but more often than not they ended up in his mouth rather than anyone else’s.  
  


***

  
As the credits rolled down the screen Louis picked up the remote, turning the volume down slightly.  
“Is he really okay?” he asked, looking over at where Zayn was dozing on the sofa. Niall nodded,  
“Yeah. He's just full of drugs just now so he's a bit out of it.”  
He paused, “I didn't think we should come out but he refused to stay at home. He was desperate to see you guys.”  
Harry smiled, “I'm glad. It wouldn't be the same with only three or four of us.”  
Louis and Liam nodded in agreement.  
“He should be better tomorrow,” Niall added, “I think the flight took it out of him a bit, which we didn't expect. He just needs some sleep.”  
Louis nodded, but remained unconvinced. He took a sip of his cocoa, forgetting it would have gone cold, and spat it back out into the mug. With Zayn already asleep and Niall, Harry and Liam seemingly heading that way too, Louis decided he better be the one to tidy up. He gathered up the mugs that were dotted around the room and stuffed the empty marshmallow bag into his pocket to put in the bin, making his way through to the kitchen to dump the dirty dishes. Someone could deal with them tomorrow, he wasn’t that tidy. When he got back to the living area he smiled at the sight of his four friends all together again; it hadn't been that way for a long time.  
  


***

  
The next morning Zayn awoke to the sound of Harry singing along to the radio in the kitchen, some Swedish station playing songs he knew none of the words to but Harry was belting the notes out nonetheless. He untangled himself from Niall's octopus limbs and stretched, his back cracking from sleeping on the sofa. Wandering through to kitchen he was greeted by a sight familiar from his uni days; Harry standing over a frying pan, surrounded by mess. The only thing missing was a hangover. When he caught sight of Zayn, Harry smiled and turned the volume down, pulling out a stool at the granite breakfast bar for him to sit on. He watched while Harry pushed eggs around with a spatula, reaching over to shove a few slices of bread in the toaster.  
“Morning.” he said cheerily, and Zayn couldn’t help but smile back,  
“Hi, Harry.”  
“Sleep well?”  
“Like a log.”  
Harry nodded.  
“You seemed pretty out of it last night. Feeling any better?”  
Zayn nodded,  
“I will once I get some food in me. And is there any coffee in this place?”  
Harry pointed to a steaming cafetiere sitting on the worktop, then to a cupboard above it,  
“There's mugs in there, milk in the fridge.”  
He placed a plate in front of Zayn just as he was sitting down with his coffee, taking a seat with his own breakfast opposite him.  
“So, how's life with you lately Haz?” Zayn asked, making conversation.  
  
“Have you managed to persuade Nick to go out with you yet?” The last time they'd spoken, Harry had been trying to seduce the slightly odd man that lived two doors down from him. All Zayn knew about him was that his name was Nick, he had a quiff and he presented a radio show. Harry often met him when they were both leaving for work early in the morning – Harry to go to the coffee shop and Nick to do his breakfast broadcast.  
“I think so.”  
“What do you mean, 'you think so'?”  
“Well,” Harry took a bite of his toast, chewing thoughtfully. Swallowing, he continued,  
“He came into the shop, like he does sometimes, and we got chatting. And then he asked me if I wanted to go for coffee. But, like, I work in a coffee shop.”  
“Take him to Starbucks, treat him well.” Zayn offered.  
“Not quite what I was looking for.” Harry grumbled.  
  
Just then Liam walked into the room,  
“I thought I could smell something burning.” he said. Harry's eyes narrowed, and before he got shouted at Liam added,  
“Just kidding!”  
“You might as well go and get the other two up,” Harry said. “Save me making breakfast again and again.”  
“I'll go,” Zayn volunteered, getting up from his seat. He decided to wake Louis first, shaking him gently to rouse him. It didn't take much to get him up, the word 'coffee' pretty much did it for him. He sat down beside where Niall was snuggled into the arm of the sofa, lightly running his hand through his blond hair a few times.  
“Nialler,” he whispered in his ear, and Niall began to stir.  
“Whas goin'on?” he mumbled, and Zayn smiled.  
“Morning.” he placed a kiss on his boyfriend's cheek, “Everyone's getting up. We're having breakfast.”  
Niall shook his head,  
“No, want t'go back to bed.”  
“You don't want to sleep on that sofa, Ni. We can go to bed later, promise.”  
He grabbed Niall’s hand and pulled him up gently, dragging him through to the kitchen and sitting him down. Grabbing his coffee, Zayn leant back against the wall, watching as his friends ate their breakfast. Liam, Louis and Harry chatted happily between themselves, while Niall was still trying to wake up properly. Suddenly Louis asked,  
“So what's the plan for today?”  
Everyone looked at one another, having not really planned that far ahead. At least, until Liam said,  
“I have a surprise.”  
“What is it?” Harry asked immediately.  
“I can't tell you! Then it wouldn't be a surprise.”  
No matter how much Harry pouted, Liam refused to give in. All he said as they went off to get changed and ready was,  
“Wrap up warm. It's cold outside!”  
  


***

  
Having finally moved their bags from the hallway into their bedroom, Zayn was searching for something to wear when he felt a pair of arms slide around his waist.  
“Hello,” a voice said in his ear, “You didn't give me a chance to say 'good morning' properly.”  
Zayn turned around in Niall's embrace.  
“Good morning.”  
The corners of Niall's eyes crinkled in a smile as his lips met Zayn's. Zayn could taste the mint of his toothpaste as their lips moved together and one of his hands found its way to Niall's hair, the other on his waist. Their kiss was interrupted by a banging on the door, followed by Louis' voice.  
“Hurry up lovebirds, we need to go soon!”  
They broke apart, laughing, and Niall whispered,  
“Good morning!”  
Zayn went back to searching for his hoodie as Niall tossed him one of his own jumpers.  
“Just wear that. Have you taken your meds?”  
“Yes,” Zayn nodded.  
“Then let's go!”  
  
They all met up outside, and instead of heading towards the road by which they arrived, Liam led them through the snow behind the lodge, into the forest.  
“Where are we going?” Louis kept asking, but all Liam told him every time was,  
“You'll have to wait and see!”  
After walking for a quarter of an hour along the path, they began to hear strange noises, and soon after that the trees gave way to white open space.  
“Huskies!” Niall exclaimed. “Please tell me we're going sledding?”  
Liam smiled, nodding. There were two lines of dogs sitting in the snow, bound together and ending in a sleigh. A man was standing next to them, and when the boys arrived he looked up.  
“I thought we'd go first,” Liam said, pointing to Harry, Louis and himself, “Then you two.”  
The other boys nodded, and Niall and Zayn watched as Liam, Harry and Louis got onto the sleigh behind the man. Before they knew it they were off, leaving behind them a shower of snow and the fading sound of bells jingling.  
  
Niall pulled Zayn into his side, an arm around his waist.  
“This is nice, isn't it.”  
Zayn nodded,  
“Definitely makes a change from the states.”  
“I love Christmas time.”  
“Me too.”  
Zayn looked down at Niall's happy, smiling face, cheeks flushed pink from the cold. His hands were stuffed into his pockets and he had a scarf wrapped around his neck. Zayn just wanted to keep him like this forever.  
“I love you.”  
“I love you too.”  
Their lips on each others were warm, a stark contrast to the air around them, and it was only the distant sound of sleigh-bells that caused them to spring apart. The man with the dog-sled was back, and Niall and Zayn climbed on, wrapped around each other to be given a tour of the surrounding landscape. It was beautiful; the snow gave everything a magical quality, and the atmosphere was very festive. When they finally arrived at their destination, it tuned out to be a little coffee shop on the outskirts of a tiny village. The other three were waiting for them outside when they arrived, and once they were inside Liam asked,  
“What did you think of that?”  
“It was amazing!” Niall said. “Did you guys have fun?”  
The other boys nodded.  
“Harry fell off.” Louis stage-whispered, and Harry whacked him,  
“You weren’t meant to tell them that!”  
Louis stuck his tongue out at him, while Zayn asked,  
“How the hell did you manage that?”  
Harry pouted, whining,  
“It was slippy!”  
They ordered drinks, sitting at a table in the corner as they chatted to each other. It was just like old times, when they were all at university and saw each other every day. Christmas is a time for bringing people together, and that was exactly what had happened.  
  


***

  
When they got back to the lodge, the boys decided to take advantage of their surroundings. Louis joined Zayn at the balcony where he was watching Harry, Niall and Liam throwing snowballs at each other.  
“Hello Zaynie, having fun?”  
Zayn turned to face his oldest friend, smiling.  
“Yeah.”  
“I missed you. Don''t go away for so long next time.”  
“I won't. I missed you too.”  
“You need to promise.” Louis insisted.  
“I promise. London's nicer than LA anyway.”  
They watched the hot air of their breath make steam in the cool air for a few moments, before Zayn said,  
“I know you're worried about me Loulou. Don't be. I'm fine.”  
“I know. I can't help it.”  
Zayn pulled Louis into a hug, wrapping his arms tightly around his shoulders. Louis squeezed back before asking,  
“How are things with you and Niall?”  
Zayn bit his lip, the corner of his mouth lifting in a small smile.  
“Great, actually. Really great.”  
“I'm glad. Didn’t I always tell you it would work out? If it hadn’t been for me you two would still have been skirting around your feelings for each other.”  
“We've been together more than a year, Lou. I'd like to think we'd have come to our senses before now.”  
“God, has it been that long? We really need to see more of each other.”  
Zayn nodded in agreement.  
“Hey, what about your love life, eh Tomlinson?”  
“What about it?”  
Zayn could see the tell-tale red blush creeping up Louis' cheeks.  
“Got your eye on anyone?”  
Louis leant on the railing, looking out over the hill.  
“Well, there is this one guy I've been seeing. He's a friend of Nick's.”  
“Oh. What's his name?”  
“Greg. Greg James.”  
“And?”  
“We've been out a few times, but I’m still undecided.”  
“Well I hope it works out for you, Lou.”  
Louis sighed,  
“Me too.”  
  


***

  
“Me first!” Louis shouted over everyone, who had gathered around the fire to exchange Secret Santa presents. “I got Zayn!”  
He passed his gift over, a large, squishy, haphazardly-wrapped package.  
“This looks...interesting. Is that newspaper?” Zayn asked.  
Looking a little embarrassed, Louis nodded. “I didn't have much time, okay!”  
Everyone laughed at that, and Zayn began at peel off the sellotape that was holding his gift in a death grip, it had been wrapped around it that many times. Finally he admitted defeat and retrieved a pair of scissors, cutting through the paper whilst also being mindful of the present inside. Eventually he tore the last of it away to reveal...some kind of blanket? With a zip?  
“Is this what I think it is?” Zayn asked, a laugh at the back of his throat. “You got me a onesie!”  
“Well. I thought you'd like it until you slagged me off for mine yesterday!”  
“No, Lou, this is great. I was actually getting pretty jealous of yours. It looked so cosy!”  
Louis pumped a fist in the air.  
“Yes! I knew they were cool! Now you have one of your very own.”  
Zayn got up and walked across the room, dumping himself in Louis' lap and throwing his arms around his neck.  
“Thank you darling, I can always count on you!”  
  
“Okay, my turn!” Harry interrupted impatiently. “I got you, Liam.”  
He slid a gift bag across the floor to Liam, who picked it up and pulled an envelope out first.  
“Dear Liam, have a wonderful Christmas and an amazing New Year. Love Harry xxx.” Liam read from a card with a penguin on the front of it.  
“Aw, that's sweet Haz!”  
Next he opened Harry's gift, a bottle of cologne. After that followed Niall giving Harry a couple of DVDs and Louis getting a novelty mug and a box of chocolates from Liam before it was finally Zayn's turn.  
“Well, you've probably already guessed that I got you, Ni.” he said with a smile, “I've got you a proper present at home, and I'll give you it on Christmas day, but this is just a little thing.”  
He passed over a fairly small, square, rectangular present shyly, seemingly nervous about its contents. Niall unwrapped it carefully, revealing a canvas.  
“If you don’t like it, I can do it again or get you something else-”  
“No.” Niall cut across his boyfriend. “I love it.”  
“Really?”  
“It's perfect.”  
Niall launched himself across their little circle at Zayn, burying his face in his neck while the other boys scrambled around to see what had made Niall so happy. Painted on the canvas was a photo they all knew well, it took pride of place on the wall in Niall and Zayn's shared apartment. It had been taken months before, near the beginning of their relationship. They couldn’t remember who had been in charge of the camera; Harry and Louis still argued about it. But it didn't matter who had taken the photo, regardless they had captured the moment perfectly. It was of Niall and Zayn sitting next to each other, looking at each other with small, secretive smiles, and the emotion in their eyes could only be described as adoration. Incredibly cheesy as it sounds, it was beautiful. Because it was them.  
“Did you paint this, Zayn?” Harry asked. Zayn nodded, Niall still clinging to him.  
“It's amazing.”  
“Thanks.”  
  
Finally Niall drew back, after peppering Zayn's face with kisses and muttering hundreds of ' _thank you_ 's in his ear, and said,  
“Well now I can't wait until Christmas.” **  
**


End file.
